Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s recent statement urging New Yorkers to stop using vaping products was both striking and justified. The bizarre lung illnesses that prompted warnings from the governor, the state Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have claimed at least six lives within a few weeks, affecting several hundred nationwide…
As we address this crisis, let’s not lose sight of a slower but wider-reaching public health emergency that’s been unfolding for decades – the cigarette epidemic. Cigarette smoking kills 750 New Yorkers every day, and cigarettes are responsible for 30 percent of all cancer deaths.